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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Should We Stay or Should We Go?

We have exactly one month to decide if we're moving.

The answer, more than likely, is no. But who knows what can happen in four weeks?

We came to New York with the understanding that we would stay two years and then re-evaluate. This is the end of the second year, and I'm not yet quite ready to leave. Every weekend feels like a vacation. There's always something new to see, some place new to try. Why leave until that feeling disappears?

And yet I couldn't help but check out some Columbus real estate sites a couple of weekends ago. We could have a Short North condo, steps from High Street, with a deck -- a deck! -- and probably spend less on housing than we are right now.

It's no secret that housing is expensive in New York. Our mortgage in Galloway was half our current rent, and we had twice the space, plus a two-car garage.

As for buying, anything remotely within our price range in New York is too far from the city to even consider. A one-bedroom in a nice part of Manhattan (and even the better Brooklyn neighborhoods) easily can run to $400,000+.

The other option, of course, is moving to another area of Brooklyn. I would like to be a little further north, closer to more subway lines and Manhattan. Apartment prices have dropped in New York as they have in much of the rest of the country, so it's possible that we could find a deal.

But overall I like Bay Ridge, our apartment, and my six-minute walk to the subway, so I'll be only halfheartedly searching for a new place. But a girl can dream ... and search Craigslist in the meantime.